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Quick Hits – August 2, 2017

Is it really August second already? I’m not sure who said it, but they certainly were dead on. Once you have a family, the days are long, but the weeks are short.

And today really is going to be a Quick Hits so let’s get started!

Bi-partisanship? Say it ain’t so!

Finally fed up with the Washington D.C. based real-life version of “The Apprentice,” Democratic and GOP senators are bypassing the Nincompoop-in-Chief in an effort to actually fix the Affordable Care Act.

Be still my beating heart! For years, Larry Jones and I insisted that Obamacare has no problems that can’t be fixed if both sides put their heads together. And now they might actually do that!

So, if the consequence of this abjectly ridiculous presidential administration is a return to the days of Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill, then I’m suddenly alright with the Orangeman getting elected.

The definition of insanity part 12

Governor Rauner just vetoed the education reform bill in which he got 90 percent of what he wanted because he doesn’t want to “bail out” the Chicago school system.

I don’t want to throw any more of my hard-earned tax dollars at those spendthrift CPS folks, either, but the reality is, the Illinois balance of political power still lies squarely within the City That Works, and that’s not going to change overnight. It’s going to take a lot of electoral elbow grease to restore balance to the force.

So, if I was sitting in that Springfield mansion, given a choice between getting most of what I wanted and saving CPS from themselves, or closing schools across the state for a lack of funding, I’d embrace the former without hesitation.

Then, with all those bright shining classroom faces firmly in their places, I’d move to reform those Chicago schools, which is a bi-partisan no-brainer, when you consider that no Illinois school district is happy with the disproportionate amount of money being shipped to CPS.

But that’s just me.

Behave Genevans!

Tonight (8/2) is the big Batavia Planning Commission meeting (City Hall, 7 p.m.) in which the Campana Building developers will propose zoning variances and the general public will have their say about the project.

Though I’m convinced this is just another case of Jeff Ward spitting into the wind, for all those Genevans planning on showing up, here’s exactly what you should do:

Clap, hoot and holler outrageously every time someone says something you like. C’mon! This isn’t a cheerleading competition, it’s a government meeting in which a group of unpaid citizens truly want to listen and do the right thing. Please show them the respect they deserve

Stomp your feet, boo, hiss and shout down anyone who disagrees with you. That’ll lose the commission faster than outrageous applause. Remember, those folks are under no obligation to listen to any Geneva resident for any reason.

Tell the commission the building should be turned into a Mariano’s, a movie theatre, big box retail, or anything else that hasn’t come into that location for 37 long years. We all love the “free market” until it tells us something we don’t want to hear

Refer to apartment dwellers as “those people,” “that element,” or “trash,” because that’s the quickest way of getting the Planning Commission to OK the project. They know they cannot be perceived as discriminating against any social group or a costly lawsuit will shortly follow.

Consistently reject the commission’s reality and substitute your own. They know exactly what they can and can’t do, and the fact that you repeat a flight of fancy over and over will not make it the truth. Listen! You might actually learn something.

As my not-so-sainted mother used to say, “Discretion is the better part of valor,” so, act as if you’re trying to get your boss or a client to accept a new proposal. You can thank me later.

Why am I not shocked?

It would seem that disgraced former Illinois Congressman, Aaron Shock, is doing his damndest to redefine the word “snowflake.”

With the Feds closing in, a looming January 2018 trial date and a so-far unsympathetic judge, Shock and his attorneys are pulling the “gay” card. They claim investigators’ attempts to determine whether Shock is really gay amount to “harassment and salacious innuendo,” and that’s gotta be the worst case of prosecutorial persecution ever!

Oh c’mon! We all know that any man who watched just one episode of “Downton Abbey” is probably gay, with the slam dunk being the whole life imitating art thing. Put more simply, how can the former Congressman be libeled when we already know the truth?

So conservatives! Until you own this guy, I don’t want to hear any more crap about liberals and/or playing the race card.

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4 thoughts on “Quick Hits – August 2, 2017”

Jeff
You will be unhappy to hear that Genevans and all other local residents did not take your “advice.” Many excellent points were brought up and for the vast part the audience was extremely well behaved. Only one person, in my opinion, was off topic and he was told about it. The Batavia Planning Commission ran an excellent meeting and listened to all speakers. Great job by all. Sorry to disappoint you.

Jeff
You are probably right but at least the community has become involved. That is something that has been non-existence for many years. Now maybe the voter turnout rate will get over 20%.
As I stated last night, if Batavia makes an agreement that Evergreen covers ALL expected public service costs of the development, I am good with it. We all know property taxes are out of sight.
The potential problem in this whole situation is that many Allendale residents will put their houses up for sale. In many ways you can’t blame them because they will be directly affected by the noise, traffic and potential water runoff of the renovated building.
The traffic improvements are the responsibility of the state and county and should have been improved years ago.

While I’m certainly glad to hear that everyone behaved, the two problems are, they’re only doing it because it’s in their backyard and, while it’s good to get involved, they’re fighting the wrong battle.

And like I’ve said here, There’s no way Batavia doesn’t do this project.